Plastic containers, capable of storing any number of articles of manufacture, have become ubiquitous in modern markets. Polymeric compounds are utilized to manufacture plastic containers because of their many beneficial characteristics including, for example, high durability, high ductility, and good tensile strength. Additionally, many polymeric compounds have thermal properties that allow the use of injection molding techniques to create any number of useful shapes and sizes. However, despite their broad applicability, plastic containers continue to experience some drawbacks.
For example, in some applications, polymeric compounds form micropores during manufacturing processes. These micropores may allow the passage of undesirable gases through a polymeric barrier. Thus, containers manufactured from polymeric compounds may, in some examples, suffer from undesirable contamination. One solution utilized to ameliorate polymeric porosity is the use of surface coatings. In some examples, a polymer may be surface coated with an antibacterial compound. One example of an antibacterial compound utilized for surface coatings is Biogreen as disclosed by Korean Patent Number 10-301722. While some surface coatings may be theoretically effective, they may, in some examples suffer from undesirable agglomeration during manufacture, which may result in uneven coverage and distribution. Furthermore, some surface coatings require stringent manufacturing conditions such as maintaining a non-oxygenated environment or a narrow temperature range during application. These requirements may contribute to rising manufacturing costs, which in some examples, may be undesirable.
Another drawback to plastic containers arises when sealing a plastic container opening. Typically, a gasket may be utilized in coordination with a lid to close and seal a plastic container. However, gaskets are often difficult to retain because many polymeric compounds resist adhesion. Thus, common glues and bonding agents cannot always be used to permanently affix a gasket to a container. In those examples, a gasket may easily be lost, mishandled, or damaged by a user. Thus, new methods of affixing gaskets to polymeric compounds may be desirable.
Still further, while locking mechanisms for plastic container lids are common in the prior art, most of these mechanisms rely on a contiguous locking channel indent and locking tab to lock a lid to a container. In many instances, those channels introduce undesirable crevices and surfaces that may not be easily cleaned and sanitized. Thus, a non-porous polymeric container utilizing semi-permanently affixed compressible gasket having a simplified locking mechanism may be desirable in some examples. Therefore, nano-silver infused container arrangements are presented herein.